The Lost Traveller by Sheila Connolly

Barbara’s rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: County Cork #7
Publication Date: 1/8/19
Number of Pages: 336

I have loved this quirky series since the first book, but I have to say that this one was my least favorite so far. The story was slow and repetitive. You have Maura asking questions or being in a situation and then repeating all of that to the next three or four people she encounters. The Maura in this book didn’t seem like the Maura in previous books. This Maura just seems to be floating on the surface of life without really participating in it. She has employees she has worked with for over a year, and they have become very close, but she doesn’t even know where they live – in a very, very small community. She owns the pub, but she seems more like an employee than the owner. I don’t mean she should be dictatorial, I like the participative management style, but she seems to let the employees just manage things and she shows up to work. What I think is that she should know how to do all of the jobs (including the internet, etc.) whether she is the one who actually does them or not. In this book, she also appears very indecisive – should she do the kitchen or not, etc. She seems to be leaving all of that in the hands of a seventeen-year-old girl rather than being responsibly and actively involved. Anyway, if this is your first book in the series, please don’t judge the series by this book. The series really is better read from beginning to end because you get the full character development and come to understand the relationships.

One of the things I love is the way the writer manages to write regular, every-day English and makes you swear you ‘hear’ an Irish lilt there. I love the descriptions of the Irish culture and countryside. Makes me want to move there and visit with Billy, Mick, Rose, Bridget, Sean, and Gillian.

The mystery in this book seemed a bit flat. It seemed to be more about discovering the identity of the dead man rather than what happened to him. I think it could have been much more interesting if the Travellers had played a more central role in the whole thing. Just as an FYI – the title is misleading. Maura seems to just leap to the conclusion that the murder has something to do with illegals entering the country rather than it being a crime of passion or a vendetta or – well – just anything else.

Maura wanted to enjoy the sunshine on a beautiful day and took her lunch outside to eat. As she’s sitting there thinking, she looks up toward the bridge that crosses over the ravine that gave the small town of Leap its name. She’s amazed that she sees a bag of garbage that has been dumped near the midpoint underneath the bridge. Well, since it is on her property, Maura supposes she is the one who should clean it up – until she takes a closer look and discovers that it is a dead body. She immediately calls her friend at the local Gardai (police) station, Garda Sean Murphy.

Not only was the body dumped on Maura’s property, but the face had been mutilated so that it was impossible to identify it. Was someone trying to send Maura a message? Could it have something to do with her staff or a local patron of the pub? Was it maybe even meant to be a message for the previous owner Old Mick? Lots of questions, and few answers.

I am already anxiously awaiting the next book in the series and hoping that it will be better than this one. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the book, but it just isn’t the quality I have come to expect from this author and this series.

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